When down 216K equals down 265K

The latest national employment data[1] released today shows that the number of nonfarm jobs in the nation dropped by 216,000 in August — certainly not good, but the smallest decline in a year.

However, the number of jobs in the country is simultaneously being pegged at 265,000 fewer than the number announced a month earlier for the end of July.

Each month, in addition to announcing the new jobs data, officials revise their estimates for the two previous months. This is common, happens every month — sometimes the numbers go up, often they go down. This month, the loss in jobs for June was padded by another 20,000, and the loss in July (subject to further revision in a month) was boosted by another 29,000.

We’ll know whether those those revisions affect the New Jersey numbers when new monthly data is released Sept. 16. Last month’s results — a net gain in jobs powered by a 13,000 gain in private sector jobs offsetting a roughly 7,000 dip in public employment — was a sharp departure from recent trends and a source of immediate assistance for recession-battered Democrats on the campaign trail.